Schlumberger to assist IOG with SNS gas hub pre-development

UK-based Independent Oil and Gas (IOG) has signed a letter of intent and consultancy master services agreement (CMSA) with Schlumberger on the Southern North Sea Development Project.

IOG said that the agreements with Schlumberger were in relation to the development of its two Southern North Sea gas hubs, the Blythe Hub and the Vulcan Satellites Hub.

The CMSA provides a framework for Schlumberger to assist IOG in the period before the final investment decision (FID) on the SNS development project. A jointly established team will work to complete the field development and execution plans.

Mark Routh, CEO and interim chairman of IOG, said: “We are delighted to attract a major contractor of the caliber of Schlumberger to the project, which is a further vindication of our dual gas hub development strategy.

“The range of services and deep technical expertise provided by Schlumberger will be very valuable for us both in the pre-development phase and the drilling and operational phases of the project. We look forward to finalizing terms with Schlumberger and other key contractors in the coming months.

“Discussions with potential gas offtakers also continue to progress well and it is envisaged that these arrangements will include gas prepayments which would also contribute significantly to our development funding. We look forward to making further updates in due course.”

As far as the two hubs go, Blythe contains independently verified 2P reserves of 34.3 billion cubic feet (BCF), 6.1 million barrels of oil equivalent, (MMBoe) and Elgood 22 BCF of 2C resources (4.3 MMBoe).

The Blythe Hub is expected to provide the first gas for IOG via the recommissioned Thames Pipeline and therefore the first revenues to the company from its current portfolio of assets.

The Vulcan Satellites lie 30-45 km east of the Blythe field. Vulcan East was discovered by Silverstone Energy (now Verus Petroleum) in 2006. Vulcan North West was discovered by Shell and Exxon in 1987 while Vulcan South was discovered by Conoco in 2000.